Why have I been put into a mind to make a kissing ball? Well, here in New England (U.S.), we're entering the gray season, as cooler temperatures try to sever our ties with the plant domain. The rest of the year, I pretty much go with the flow -- but not now. My watch word during the gray season is "recalcitrance." With all my might, I resist being cut off from the wonders of the plant world to which I had become so accustomed over the course of the last eight months or so.

Gone now are the days of stepping outdoors to see how, for instance, the leaves on my Virginia sweetspire have changed from last week -- that's true. I realize that, from now on, when I step outdoors, I'll witness plants resigned to a rather static state, until spring returns. But that doesn't mean I have to take it lying down! I'm not a big fan of houseplants, but there are plenty of ways to keep the memories of better times alive....

One way to maintain a connection with the plant world during winter is to dry certain plant parts during fall, then bring them inside. For instance, I have some dried hydrangea flowers hanging up right next to me, as I type these words. I also like to dry hardshell gourds to work on my gourd craft.

Likewise, I enjoy using materials from the plant world to make Christmas decorations, such as kissing balls. While not all the materials in my kissing ball project are natural (heck, a Styrofoam ball lies at the very center of a kissing ball), I do discuss several natural materials in the process of showing you how to make kissing balls. For all the instructions, please click the link below.

View tutorial: How to Make Kissing Balls

If you rely on a garden hose to water your lawn, you understand what a nuisance hoses can be. I'm continually annoyed, in my own yard, by the fact that the plumbing for the garden hose is on one side of the driveway, while the lawn is on the other. This means, of course, that the hose must run across my driveway in order for me to water my lawn. The driveway is a small one, with barely enough room for the two cars that call it home. Inevitably, it seems, there's a car in the way when I want to reposition the hose. Sometimes, the hose even winds up pinned under a tire.

November is the one time of year, however, when I'm glad I water my lawn with a hose (or so I tell myself). Why? Because winterizing garden hoses is a breeze: just detach 'em, let the excess water ooze out, bring 'em inside and turn off the outside water supply.

But as About.com's Lawn Care Guide reports, winterizing sprinkler systems is another matter altogether. It's easy to put the hose's upscale cousin to bed for the winter only "if you have the proper equipment." Winterizing sprinkler systems requires an air compressor -- which, let's face, the average person tends not to have just lying around.

It's a small victory for us "hose people." Enjoy it while it lasts!

Resource related to winterizing sprinkler systems: Lawn Irrigation

Do you have all the leaves removed off your lawn yet? If not, don't be ashamed: you have a sympathetic ear here with this procrastinator! But if you do, while your leaf-removal work is still fresh in your mind, it's a good time for you to share your leaf-removal method with the rest of us.

I admit to harboring some skepticism about leaf blowers. What gets them off on the wrong foot with me is the noise that they emit. While bothering with the task of leaf removal, I take great consolation in being able to enjoy a peaceful fall day, and the blare of an engine definitely detracts from that. Leaf raking is work, yes, but I find it more pleasant work than leaf blowing.

Of course, there's more to it than that. Some may not be up to leaf raking, physically.

How about you? How do you prefer to remove the leaves from your lawn: by leaf raking or leaf blowing -- or both? Click the link below to tell us your preference.

As for you procrastinators out there, the opinions sent in may provide the catalyst you need to get you moving before the snow flies!

What's your leaf-removal method: Leaf Raking or Leaf Blowing

Marie Iannotti grew tired of losing spring bulbs to pests. "So now I toss a handful of gravel into the planting holes to deter the voles, keep the tulips in sheltered pots and focus on deer resistant varieties," writes About.com's Gardening Guide. The spring bulbs that deer won't eat include:

• daffodils
• alliums
• snowdrops
• Scilla siberica
• grape hyacinth
• crocus

Deer may not like crocus, but squirrels love them! Spreading blood meal around the planting bed will help deter the pests (and green up the grass considerably, if you're planting these spring bulbs in a lawn area), but a surer squirrel-control method is to lay chicken wire on top of the ground where you have just planted your crocus.

The nice thing about protecting crocus in this way is that, since most crocus plants are relatively small, there's often no rush to remove the chicken wire later, unless it's an area you'll need to mow (for spring bulbs that grow bigger, you'd have to remove the chicken wire before they push up in spring, lest the foliage be cut on the sharp wire).

What do you think of when you hear mention of beech trees? For some of you, their famous beechnuts may come to mind. Others may recall a beech tree from their childhood filled with such engravings as "Bill + Mary 1967," the smooth, light-colored bark of beech trees being a prime target for sylvan graffiti mongers.

But neither of those two things come to mind for me, first and foremost, when I think about beech trees. What I love about them is the way they extend the fall foliage season. Like oak trees, beech trees retain their leaves for a much longer time than do most trees here in New England.

A grove of beech trees in the forest can be an enchanting sight in fall. Eventually, their golden fall foliage fades to a tan color -- but it's still better than what most other trees are offering at the same time! Better suited to be specimens on typical lawns are the smaller tricolor beech trees.

Read article: Beech Trees

"Think of tree care as an investment," states Steve Nix. About.com's Forestry Guide lists the following as some of the dividends you'll earn on your tree care investment:

1. Increasing property values
2. Beautifying your surroundings
3. Purifying your air
4. Saving energy by providing cooling shade from summer's heat and protection from winter's wind

But what tree care tips does Steve cover to help you achieve these goals? He recommends taking his Tree Wellness Quiz first. Along with good old common sense, the quiz will help you assess your basic tree care needs. At that point, you can dip into Steve's other resources, which include tips on:

• Staking trees
• Mulching trees
• Fertilizing trees
• Pruning trees

Related resource: Ornamental Tree Care

During the winter, many of us northern gardeners go through withdrawal symptoms, cruelly deprived of many of the plants we came to know and love during the spring, summer and fall. For some, the cure for the wintertime blues lies in drawing up landscape plans for next year -- whether formally or informally. Others take solace in gardening indoors.

Fortunately, we needn't restrict ourselves when gardening indoors to the typical potting soil in which people grow houseplants, nor must we use chemical fertilizers. Composting through vermiculture provides an alternative on both scores. "Vermiculture is a way of composting using earthworms to speed up the process," writes Amy Jeanroy. "It is easily done inside the home as it takes only a small amount of room and creates no odor." About's Guide to Herb Gardens supplies more information in this article on vermiculture.

When you "force" bulbs to bloom out of season, you are using a "technique that imitates the environmental conditions that bulbs encounter outdoors, thereby tricking them into flowering earlier," as Marie Iannotti puts it. So my question to you is: Are you feeling tricky? About.com's Gardening Guide discusses how to force bulbs in detail, in case you'd like some tips for pulling the wool over Mother Nature's eyes.

As for me, I'll leave the trickery to others -- at least until someone finds a way to trick Old Man Winter into staying away. No, in fall I'm much more interested in planting bulb plants in the ground, in anticipation of spring. This, despite the fact that perhaps the last thing on our minds this time of year is a spring flower display. Many of us become too absorbed with fall foliage or Halloween decorations in autumn to think ahead to spring.

But while it's tempting to immerse ourselves in autumn's abundance and leave next year to next year, fall is the time to plant those bulbs that will yield such rich floral color once spring does return. A little foresight goes a long way....

What plants are shining most brightly in your November yard? In cold climates, flowers have now taken a backseat to foliage. For me, the stars for November (which include some holdovers from October) are the following plants -- chosen for their fall foliage, unless otherwise indicated:

• Sweetgum Tree
• Japanese maple tree
• Smoke bush
• Fothergilla
• Virginia sweetspire
• Oakleaf hydrangea
• Korean spice viburnum
• Ninebark
• Maiden grass (plumes)
• Cotoneaster (berries)

How about you? Vote in my poll and let us know what plants are shining most brightly in your own yard right now. Or if there's a plant you'd like to nominate that does not appear on the list, tell us about that plant in the Landscaping Forum.

Let Us Know What Plants Are Currently Delighting You!

There are plants with "white" flowers, and then there are plants with "brilliant-white" flowers -- such as candytuft. In fact, candytuft puts on such a wonderful display that I recommend you go out of your way to grow it somewhere where you'll be able to enjoy its dazzling color to the fullest. That means 3 things that I can think of right away:

1. Grow candytuft where it will be able to hang over a stone wall or over a raised bed wall, for example.
2. Orient your planting of candytuft in such a way that you'll be able to appreciate it easily from a much-frequented vantage point (a window or a patio, for example).
3. Don't grow candytuft under messy trees that will detract from its display.

Regarding this latter point, I speak from personal experience. I have my candytuft growing under a Kwanzan cherry (not directly under, but close by). Unfortunately, however, during the period just after my Kwanzan cherry tree drops its flowers, the visual impact of my candytuft's blossoms isn't as powerful. Why? Because the ground, which otherwise would be dark -- thereby providing a good contrast with the brightness of the candytuft flowers -- is littered with the bright blooms from the Kwanzan. As a result, I feel that my candytuft display is wasted for a few days (until the fallen blossoms from the Kwanzan cherry tree begin to fade).

Read article: Candytuft